THQ: No Hits, Bleeding Money, Laying Off 600 (THQI)

When we were in school, we considered getting an "82" on an exam a B-minus. So when videogame publisher THQ (THQI) brags its "product highlights" of the quarter were scores on review-aggregation site Metacritic of 82 on "Saints Row 2," 80 on "WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2009" and 81 on "de Blob," you know the company had a weak product lineup.

And THQ's earnings, released today, show it. The company reported a loss of $0.14 a share, compared to consenus analyst hopes of $0.08 per share profit. Revenue fell 30 percent to $357.3 million, well below a consensus estimate of $403.4 million.

The company announced it would lay off 600 employees, about 24% of its workforce.

No formal guidance other than to say "THQ expects fourth quarter results to be significantly below its previous expectations." Key new releases include Warhammer: Dawn of War II on PC, WWE Legends of WrestleMania on Xbox 360 and PS3, 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand on Xbox 360 and PS3, and Deadly Creatures on the Wii, none of which are eagerly anticipated.